Mike Dean, a legendary football referee, has highlighted the toughest bosses he has dealt with throughout his career. The 53-year-old was questioned on who the toughest managers he has faced were, looking back at his career and experiences facing some of the best players and managers in the world, with many expecting him to name former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Mike Dean said Arsene Wenger was the scariest manager he’d ever worked with, describing him as a ‘tough presence’ during Arsenal games, but that despite his reputation, Sir Alex Ferguson was ‘not that bad.’
Wenger, according to him, was ‘tough’ on the touchline and would make things difficult for officials as he ‘wanted the best for Arsenal.’
He said, “It has to be Arsene when he was at Arsenal.
“I always found it tough, not refereeing Arsenal in general but refereeing Arsenal when he was the manager. It was just his presence – he wanted the best for Arsenal all the time and if he could get any way of getting one over you he would do.
“Since he has finished football I have seen him and he has been great. Cross the white line and everyone is different, like referees. We are normal people.”
During a match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford in 2009, Dean memorably ordered Wenger to the stands after kicking a water bottle in frustration after Robin van Persie’s goal was called out for offside.
In terms of Ferguson, Dean claims that the famed Scot was not as harsh as many people imagine.
The referee said “He used to get a lot of stick saying he’d come in and bang the door down. He would come in now and then to express his views if something had gone really badly, but he wasn’t as bad as people made him out to be.”
Dean will retire from his position as a matchday referee at the end of the season to work full-time as a VAR official.
